Ptolus threads

[sckeener]

Could someone with an account list all the Ptolus threads currently?
Here are the ones I could find

Settings - Ptolus in "Gazetteer of the Known Realms"
Settings - Ptolus in the Wilderlands
Settings - Ptolus in the Scarred Lands
Settings - PTOLUS in the REALMS...HELP
Settings - Ptolus in Eberron
General - Deluxe Gaming Products - Lessons from Ptolus
General - What is Ptolus anyway?
Settings - [Ptolus] The Power Level of NPCs
Settings - Is Ptolus living up to the hype?
Reviews - Ptolus ongoing review p.1...10
Settings - Ptolus Centaur's.
Settings - [Ptolus] Erik Mona Blogs Final Ptolus Session
Settings - Ptolus Ptips? Starting up a campaign...
Plots - 'The Night of Dissolution' in Sharn
US - (NY/NJ/PA) - Ptolus D&D Northern NJ
Settings - What is Ptolus?​

Reviews

theRPGsite​

I'm thinking of running a Ptolus game but I'd like to see what others are working on because of the ripple effects of making small changes to the setting.

I'm hesitant to make some changes to the setting, but I really dislike the cage aspect to the world. I’d like to open it up to the planes, but it seems that change would be very dramatic to the underlining theme of the setting.

Currently I am thinking of making the Galchutt from the Far Realm, but that change would throw off the outsiders in the city….I like having the demons and angels in the city. I don’t want to make all of them Far Realm creatures. I can’t see why Lilith as a succubus would work to free very powerful Far Realm creatures or why Raguel would stay in Ptolus if the planes are open.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, the Galchutt predate the present cosmology as it's presently understood. Maybe the Far Realm is where the first residents of the Abyss came from, and modern beings (even many gods) are too young to recall this.

 

[Odhanan]

That could be worked out by modifying slightly the nature of these beings.

Maybe Raguel is in a sort of Jesus-like situation. He was instead flesh-born to the world, physical manifestation of the Elder Gods, but doesn't really know if this is the case, or what would be waiting for him out there if he was to, say, commit suicide. He would lead the Fallen and be in pretty much the same situation as he is in Ptolus - psychological doubt, uncertainty on what exactly his "parents" are waiting for him to do and so on.

Maybe he was originally unaware of who and what he was and was "awakened" to the knowledge of who or what his parents are. Maybe he originally thought he was just weirdly immortal and well, different. Maybe he met Lothian just prior to or just after his visit to the Jewels of Parnaith and the soon-to-be or new god revealed his origins to him?

Maybe the Fallen would have been born from humans instead of summoned and trapped to Praemal? They would then be more or less in the same situation as Raguel, but with much clearer origins and allegiances, as if they were far more potent versions of Aasimars and Tieflings (who themselves would just be humans lightly skimmed by the essence of the upper or lower planes).

Maybe the key to the true purpose of the Fallen is somehow linked to the Far Realm, and Lilith tries to reach it by liberating its manifestations on Praemal? Maybe angels and demons summoned to Praemal, or just some of them (i.e. who become Fallen or Malkuth), are ethereally/spiritually passing through the Far Realm on their way to the Material Plane and end up ethereally/spiritually "covered" (like invisible cocoon/auras only visible via True Seeing, perhaps) or "tainted" with the essence of the Far Realm, which traps them to the Material Plane? Maybe liberating the Galchutt would alter this situation, destroying the Far Realm, changing its nature or maybe just opening it wide for heavenly or demonic beings to pass through untainted?

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Opening it up completely would draw players away from Ptolus and out to the planes probably. (As it does in a standard D&D campaign.) Ptolus however addresses this problem handily by using demiplanes for "targeted" adventuring. There's the Jewels of Parnaith, the Shadow of Ptolus, and hints at a lot more. You could easily include realms within the "greater" realm of Praemal. Though it should be noted that Monte's game (IIRC?) opened up the way to other planes. Beyond Countless Doorways actually refers to it and gives a couple planar access points. You could adapt that along with the Far Realm easily.

 

[Ripzerai]

The Galchutt would work very well as obyriths (from Fiendish Codex I), though I prefer them as Far Realm critters personally.

Lilith could want to free them simply because she believes they are offering her power.

 

[sckeener]

Well, the Galchutt predate the present cosmology as it's presently understood. Maybe the Far Realm is where the first residents of the Abyss came from...

In the past I had a 'plane' outside all others called CHAOS which was similar to Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber or even Michael Moorcock's versions of law&chaos such as found in Elric. Since Bruce Cordell introduced the Far Realm I have been using that concept more.

I'm thinking I will do a Chronicles of Amber type of story where one person from Far Realm/Chaos formed the planes as we know them. The Galchutt would like something from this entity, but was trapped (or maybe this is just the weak spot it is looking to exploit to break in - the road to Amber)

Opening it up completely would draw players away from Ptolus and out to the planes probably. (As it does in a standard D&D campaign.) Ptolus however addresses this problem handily by using demiplanes for "targeted"adventuring. There's the Jewels of Parnaith, the Shadow of Ptolus, and hints at a lot more. You could easily include realms within the "greater"realm of Praemal. Though it should be noted that Monte's game (IIRC?) opened up the way to other planes. Beyond Countless Doorways actually refers to it and gives a couple planar access points. You could adapt that along with the Far Realm easily.

I'm a Planescape fan and I'd love to combine the two products, especially since Monte did as good a job with the organizations in Ptolus as he did with Factions Planescape. Also I am a fan of Erik Mona and James Jacobs' Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. I want to use the layers in the Abyss. They scream to me to be used.

The Galchutt would work very well as obyriths (from Fiendish Codex I), though I prefer them as Far Realm critters personally.

True. I guess up until this point I haven't been mixing my Outsiders with Far Realm. One group I usually go for an alignment feel and the other is beyond alignment.

 

[sckeener]

That could be worked out by modifying slightly the nature of these beings.

Maybe Raguel is in a sort of Jesus-like situation. He was instead flesh-born to the world, physical manifestation of the Elder Gods, but doesn't really know if this is the case, or what would be waiting for him out there if he was to, say, commit suicide. He would lead the Fallen and be in pretty much the same situation as he is in Ptolus - psychological doubt, uncertainty on what exactly his "parents" are waiting for him to do and so on.

Maybe he was originally unaware of who and what he was and was "awakened" to the knowledge of who or what his parents are. Maybe he originally thought he was just weirdly immortal and well, different. Maybe he met Lothian just prior to or just after his visit to the Jewels of Parnaith and the soon-to-be or new god revealed his origins to him?

thanks, you have given me some frightening ideas...such as doing the lovecraft thing of an ordinary person (Raguel-Dagon) waking up and discovering he actually has a more complex heritage....

One nice thing about Ptolus is the theme underlining it all works. My desire to pull bits just makes the changes feel ragged.

 

[sckeener]

{bump} looking for more threads.